This invention relates to a sterilization container for sterilizing, storing and transporting medical instruments.
Medical instruments must be sterilized before use in surgery and after sterilization, a sterile environment must be maintained. Accordingly, sterilization containers are used for such purposes. These sterilization containers generally are an elongated container having walls and a bottom defining a volume in which the medical instruments are placed. This volume is closed by a removable lid. It is also necessary to position medical instruments within the container so that they are readily available to the surgeon. Accordingly, multiple internal configurations of sterilization containers are necessary, and since evolving medical technology continually provides new instruments and new procedures for performing surgery, it is desirable that sterilization containers be easily reconfigured. This is difficult with prior art sterilization containers.
The present invention provides a sterilization container that can be easily reconfigured to accommodate different medical instrument sets. According to the present invention, a sterilization container includes a base which defines a volume in which the medical instruments are placed. The base is ringed shaped, and is made of plastic. The base receives a metal bottom which is supported on a ledge circumscribing the lower edge of the base. Channels are spaced circumferentially around the inner surface of the base, and receive inserts made out of a flexible silicon rubber which are locked within ill the channels to hold the bottom in place. The inserts include outwardly projecting portions which project outwardly from the channels into the volume defined by the base. The projecting portions may be trimmed at varying heights to provide landings which support insert trays which are received within the volume defined by the base. The upper surfaces of the channels also define landings for supporting insert trays.
Accordingly, insert trays may be supported at varying heights, and multiple insert trays may be used, one placed below the other. The projecting portions of the inserts may also be configured to receive both horizontal or vertical dividers. Accordingly, the container can be easily reconfigured to accept different instrument sets.